It all started with a bedside table; small - 1 drawer, 1 shelf. It needed paint and a drawer pull.
"Hey, we could re-furbish this!", said the couple, almost in unison. I hate it we when we do that; yeah, Deb and I had this great brainstorm together.
"Hey, we could re-furbish this!", said the couple, almost in unison. I hate it we when we do that; yeah, Deb and I had this great brainstorm together.
The original finish was concealed by only a layer of paint, stain and sealer. All we needed was...time, talent and asundry supplies, right? Sand, strip and stain. "Make it like new.", we said.
The concept was simple, the execution was....more on that in a bit.
"Make it like new", is the same idea the Apostle Paul shared with his beloved church in Corinth. He used a very specific term that means "refurbish". 'Take whatcha' got, and make it like it was'. Mend. Repair. Make useful.
Like the church in our day, the believers in Corinth had fallen prey to a common temptation - they made their preferences in worship more important than the principles of worship. They were vocal, deliberate and active, naming leaders whom they rallied behind and arguing their positions ad nauseam.
I believe God wept.
So Paul writes to help them correct their course. To sand away the hard veneer, to strip away the ugly coatings of self-protection, pride and hard-heartedness. "Be perfectly united" he writes, 1 Cor. 1.10. Made new. Made useful.
People under Christ's headship ought to work in harmony with one another. If the "boss" is assigning tasks, the employees out to carry them out. If the commander is giving orders, the soldiers ought to fall in line. If the Creator is calling for His exaltation and the advancement of His kingdom, the church ought not stay divided and disparage His reputation.
One thing I have learned, townspeople know when faith is real. If we who say Christ is our King cannot work together, the community labels our faith as impotent, without power and a waste of time.
God, please help us.
(to be continued)